On Tuesday, absconding Indian loan-defaulter Vijay Mallya claimed to be innocent while dismissing all allegations against him as he arrived at a London court to attend his extradition hearing.

While
speaking to reporters outside the Westminster Magistrates' Court in
London, Mallya
said, "I deny all allegations against me. I have not eluded the
court, I have enough evidence to prove that I am not guilty."

In
Focus

The
61-year-old owner of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines had to
personally appear in his extradition case after India had raised a
formal request for the same on February 8 this year. Mallya is wanted
for loan default case amounting to Rs 9,000 crore in
India. He had fled India in March 2016 and had been living since then
in self-imposed exile in the UK.

During
Tuesday's hearing, referred to as a "case management hearing",
the judge set a timetable for hearing arguments for and against
Mallya's extradition. July 6 has been fixed as the next date of
hearing.

However,
in a major embarrassment for India, Chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot,
who was hearing the case got miffed at the delays in receiving
evidence against Mallya from the Indian government. Taking
a dig at Indian authorities, she asked, "Are Indians normally very
prompt in their responses?"

The
chief magistrate further went on to say, "They have taken six
months so far and we haven't got any further forward in the past 6
weeks." Her response came after Aron Watkins, who is representing
India on behalf of Crown Prosecution Service said that they needed
three-four weeks more to receive rest of the evidence from India.

In
the meanwhile, a defiant and resolute Vijay Mallya did not mince his
words while speaking to reporters outside the courtroom. His body
language suggested that he might have already won half the battle, at
least psychologically.

In
a cynical and
penetrative statement
directed at the Government of India, Mallya said, "You can keep
dreaming about a billion pounds; you cannot prove anything without
facts."

Interestingly,
Mallya has acquired
the services of the firm Joseph Hague Aaronson LLP to defend him in
court. Clare Montgomery, a specialist in criminal, regulatory and
fraud laws, will argue on
Mallya's behalf.

Well,
it seems at last Mr Mallya has managed to master the art of investing
money in the right place, even though his learning the art cost the
nation Rs 9,000 crore!